XX --BUT DIFFERENTLY!




CHAPTER I

THE MATERIAL


Judy, Tim, and Maria were just little children. It was impossible to
say exactly what their ages were, except that they were just the usual
age, that Judy was the eldest, Maria the youngest, and that Tim,
accordingly, came in between the two.

Their father did his best for them; so did their mother; so did Aunt
Emily, the latter's sister. It is impossible to say very much about
these three either, except that they were just Father, Mother, and
Aunt Emily. They were the Authorities-in-Chief, and they knew
respectively everything there was to be known about such remote and
difficult subjects as London and Money; Food, Health and Clothing;
Conduct, Behaviour and Regulations, both general and particular. Into
these three departments of activity the children, without realising
that they did so, classed them neatly. Aunt Emily, besides the special
duties assigned to her, was a living embodiment of No. While Father
allowed and permitted, while Mother wobbled and hesitated, Aunt Emily
shook her head with decision, and said distinctly No. She was too full
of warnings, advice, and admonitions to get about much. She wore gold
glasses, and had an elastic, pointed nose. From the children's point